The False Prophet
by metalguru
Summary: [Archie] The conclusion to the events of the Return to Angel Island arc. The echidna race continues under the leadership of the Dark Legion. But a weapon the Hunter found will threaten all.
1. Default Chapter

A/N: This chapter is a recap of Archie Comics Sonic the Hedgehog #100 and #134. It is designed to give anyone who doesn't read the comics enough knowledge to read the rest of the fic. Even if you are Anti-Archie, this fan-fic has two things going for it;

1) Its' main characters are the Dark Legion, arguably the best characters to come out of the misery that is Archie Sonic.

2) It is an original fan-fic by me. Rather than throwing together "oh somebody loves somebody, what will happen?" fics that make up 90 of the material on this site, I've taken the time to plot out an interesting and engaging plot. Whether this means I'm dedicated or just plain pathetic remains to be seen.

3) Some dialogue will not be exactly the same as in the comic. Please just let this go.

4) Its very dystopian and science gone mad. So, kiddies, there's going to be a few gooey scenes.

Chapter 1: Rad Red Remix

A long, long time ago on the floating island, the brothers Dimitri and Edmund submitted a plan to restore the floating island to its original site on the surface of Mobius. The plan, however, was immediately rejected by those who feared the process to be too dangerous. In a fit of rage, Dimitri decided to attempt his scheme and was able to harness the power of the chaos emeralds for his own ends. Before Dimitri grew too powerful, the joint forces of the echidna and fireants were able to overcome him, collapsing the tower Dimitri created where he would lie buried for the ages. More than four hundred years later, Edmund's descendent, Knuckles the Echidna, assumed the mantle of Guardian of the floating island when his own father, Locke, had mysteriously vanished. The Guardian's job is to protect the master emerald at all costs.

As the years passed, the burden of his loneliness eased as Knuckles befriended a number of individuals which, in turn, became a close-knit group, known as the Chaotix. They were; Mighty the Armadillo, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy the Bee, and Espio the Chameleon.

Unexpectedly, Dimitri emerged from his crypt, reborn as the entitiy known as Enerjak, and threatened to begin anew where he had left off, until Knuckles and the Fire-Ant Archimedes, defeated him.

A group of Dimitri's followers, known as the Dark Legion, soon, invaded the floating island. Their plans were soon foiled by Knuckles, and eventually, one of their members, a comely lass known as Julie-su, fell in love with him. Dimitri would again return to threaten Knuckles and his friends, but another enemy stepped in and drained him of his chaos-based powers, which resulted in Dimitri requiring cybernetic implants in order to save his own life.

A year and a half before this story begins, five months before Sonic supposedly gave his life to save Mobius from an alien invasion (A/n I cannot write that line without smacking my head against my desk a couple of timesA/n), Dimitri and Knuckles met once again. However, Knuckles was no longer himself. When he was a child, his father Locke mutated Knuckles to allow him to meld with the master emerald to a point where he could bend reality to his will. Two weeks before this meeting, these powers manifested themselves inside sixteen-year old Knuckles, changing his body green and giving him the power to mold the world as he saw fit. However, due to his nature, unlike Dimitri, Knuckles feared his new abilities and was reluctant to use them and test their full power. Seeking guidance, Knuckles sought out the only person who could explain the extent of his powers: Dimitri.

* * *

"So, Knuckles, come to end this once and for all?" Dimitri stood at the head of the bridge of the mighty Dark Legion battlecruiser, holding position over the floating island. It was this same battlecruiser that carried the mighty omega cannon, which only weeks before the Dark Legion had used to transport all the inhabitants of the island into another dimension. 

The Dark Legionnaires quickly pulled their weapons. They were menacing in their all black robes, their faces hidden in shadow, but appearance meant nothing against such a force as Chaos Knuckles.

"Actually, 'Unc', I couldn't care less about the Guardian/Dark Legion war right about now."

This surprised the centuries-old grandmaster. "Then to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

Knuckles stared directly at Dimitri, ignoring the other legionnaires. "I've come to make a deal."

In another dimension

The scorching winds of this barren dimension whip the desert dunes into a frenzy, attempting to subdue a lone traveler across the wasteland. Cloaked in a tribal cape and cowl, an echidna attempts to brave the desolate desert, searching for a way to get back home. For you see, this echidna is not from this dimension. His name is Tobor, the tenth guardian and great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Knuckles. Years ago, he too once protected the floating island from enemies. Once, in a battle with the ferocious Moritori Rex, the third grandmaster of the Dark Legion, the two combatants became trapped as the ruins of a great temple collapsed around them. When Tobor's father came searching for him, he mistook the evil grandmaster for Tobor, since Rex had attempted to infiltrate the brotherhood by pretending to be Tobor. Tobor, feeling disgraced, refused to return to the Brotherhood, instead going into exile, yet always keeping a vigil on his home. As the years passed, his eyes gave, and he was outfitted with robotic eyes by an overlander (mutated human) scientist.

When Knuckles first encountered the Brotherhood, he realized that the Tobor he met was Moritori, and blew the spy's cover. The real Tobor returned home and was taken in by Knuckles' family. However, reunions were not in order. In a mighty attack on the echidna's home of echinapolis, Tobor entered the fray and pushed the grandmaster Kragok into a portal, with the unfortunate repercussion that Tobor would fall in as well. Ever since that day, he has traveled this dimension, searching desperately for some way home.

The Floating Island

"Interesting. So in exchange for the return of all the other echidna, you'll join our side? This doesn't seem like you, Knuckles." Dimitri pondered the merits of the young guardian's proposal.

"I've come to realize that perhaps drastic steps need to be taken if both sides are going to get anywhere."

"Well, then, Knuckles, welcome to the Dark Legion!"

Knuckles was unfazed by the sheer momentum of the event that had just occurred.

"I'll hold up my side of the bargain, Knuckles. Legionnaires, fire up the Omega Cannon!"

The battle cruiser roared to life as all systems began focusing on powering up the world shattering power of the omega cannon.

"All systems powering up. Firing systems online. Cannon ready to fire!"

"Fire!" shouted Dimitri.

Dark red particles of energy wrapped around the mighty cannon, rotating slowly but gaining more and more speed as the balls closed in on the center. Suddenly, all the energy rammed into the cannon, which focused the energy into a beam. The beam shot out over the island, stopping in mid-air and exploding, creating a rip in the very fabric of space and time. A huge portal appeared out of nowhere.

Unbeknownst to the Dark Legionnaires, a single figure fell through early. Landing on the soft dirt of the floating island, he quickly attempted to gain his bearings. Looking around at his surroundings, he realized exactly where he was.

"Home," said Tobor the prodigal guardian. "I'm home, I can't believe it, I'm finally home!"

If his eyes weren't mechanical, they would have welled up with tears. Tobor couldn't believe his luck. While trudging through the desert searching for the way home, a portal had opened in front of him. Feeling that any place was better than that wasteland, he jumped without haste, and his recklessness was rewarded. Somehow, Aurora had smiled upon him and sent him home.

"But how? Where did that portal come from?" He looked above him. "No."

Above him, the Dark Legion battlecruiser continued to fire the Omega beam in their attempt to bring the inhabitants of the floating island back to this dimension. However, Tobor didn't realize this.

"The Dark Legion is attacking the floating island! To think that my benefactors are also my worst enemy!"

Searching inside of himself and focusing all the energies he had been taught to harness as a Guardian, Tobor once again felt a familiar warmth inside of him. As a descendent of Edmund, blessed by Aurora, goddess of the Echidnas, he had been trained to tap into the most powerful weapon the Guardians possessed:

The Master Emerald. Unlike the chaos emeralds, the Master Emerald was the greatest source of chaotic energy in the entire world. It's almost limitless reserves gave untold power to any who could harness even a fraction of its power. None, except for Dimitri and Knuckles, had ever tried to fully use the power of the ME, and with good reason. If a dark soul ever got their hands on the majesty that was the Master Emerald, it would grant all the dark wishes of that twisted being.

However, right now Tobor really didn't care about the superstitions or warnings. Summoning up his link to the ME, he suddenly felt increasingly stronger, yet light as air. His feet lifted off the ground in a short hover as a light green glow surrounded his body.

"Alright, I'm back!" Tobor smiled.

"Oh, my dear Tobor," a mighty voice roared behind him, "how could you forget about me, old friend?"

"It can't be!" Tobor turned, shocked. "Kragok!"

Tobor was suddenly engulfed in an enormous shadow, as the massive cape of the mighty Kragok blocked the sun from Tobor's view. The grandmaster seemingly floated in the air, his arms crossed over his chest, the left one a mass of twisted metal that replaced where once was flesh. His face was hidden in the darkness of his hood with only his left mechanical eye visible, glowing a bloody crimson red in otherwise total blackness.

Kragok lunged at Tobor with the razor sharp blades of his left hand, but Tobor jumped back and flew upwards as far as his powers could take him.

Kragok, not one to back down now that he had the chance to kill a Guardian, threw open his cloak, revealing a battle-scared yet strong frame which had survived many battles, and, with any luck, would survive another. A deafening roar was heard as the jet pack attached to Kragok's back and hidden under his cloak fired up, sending the grandmaster into the sky to face his opponent.

An age-old battle of two opponents divided by their ideologies once again played out in the air above the floating island this day. Kragok, has death black cloak and mechanical appendages a testament to the wonders of technology, against Tobor, his clothes made from animal skins with tribal imprinting drawn from years of native lore and his nature-worshiping culture. For centuries, their two families had fought for the minds of the people of the floating island, with no quarter given or asked for by either side.

Just as their forefathers did before them, Kragok and Tobor battled to the death in the sky, neither stopping to think about how a simple disagreement between each family's scion turned into a secret war for supremacy or that, just moments ago on board the Dark Legion battle cruiser, Knuckles had successfully negotiated a truce with Dimitri, an initial step that would realize the end of the Guardian's War.

No. Centuries of warfare had taught the two mighty warriors only one lesson; kill first and ask questions later.

Kragok, electricity crackling on the claws of his mechanical left arm known as the lightning arm, struck with all his might. Despite his injuries, Tobor matched Kragok blow for blow. If possible, they could have been locked in battle for the rest of eternity.

However, while Kragok thought only of destroying his opponent, Tobor had another concern on his mind. He stole a glimpse of the Dark Legion's cruiser, which was still firing the omega cannon at the island. The portal was growing stronger, emanating enormous energy for whatever dark purpose the Legion had in mind. Tobor knew he didn't have much time to battle his opponent, no matter how much he dearly wanted to kill Kragok.

He knew what he had to do.

Summoning a blast of air, Tobor knocked himself off balance so that he was falling towards the cruiser. Kragok dove after his opponent, insane with rage. Taking a huge swipe, Kragok was surprised to find his seemingly off-balance opponent easily dodging the lightning claw and grasping Kragok's cloak with all his might.

Their momentum sent them straight towards the Dark Legion cruiser. Unable to control his descent, Kragok panicked as his opponent turned him towards his people's flagship.

"No, you'll kill us both!" screamed Kragok.

With an enormous blow, the two hurtled directly into the cruiser, smashing directly into the omega cannon. The accompanying explosion sent shockwaves through the ship, causing heavy damage to the Dark Legion's cruiser.

Inside, everyone braced as the ship shook violently, sending electronic equipment scattering everywhere.

"Damage report, now!" screamed Dimitri.

"Relax," said Knuckles, clearly not alarmed, "there's no cause for alarm."

Dimitri was skeptical. "Is there something you'd like to share with us, Knuckles?"

Standing at the exit to the command center, a search team waited for Dimitri's signal to search the outside of the ship. Next to them stood Lien-da.

"Ma'am," one of the Legionnaires asked, "what should we do?"

Lien-da grunted. "Begin your search. Report everything you find to me first. Don't even think of disobeying that order."

"Y-yes, ma'am!" The party headed out onto the front of the ship.

_Damn you Knuckles, what do you know that we don't? _the grandmistress thought to herself.

"Ma'am!" a crackles came over Kommissar's com.

"What?"

"You really need to come out here and see this for yourself."

**One and a half years later**

Deep within the mechanical fortress of New Megalopolis, the tyrant known as Eggman slept quietly inside a specially made chamber designed to regulate his sleep patterns. A timer above the machine ticked slowly, while life-support systems monitored the despotic doctor's sleep patterns.

The timer ticked 0759. The lab was silent except for the hum of random machinery, bustling twenty-four/seven to continue the mad doctor's quest for world domination. Outside, the factories churned out various nightmarish creations that would serve as Eggman's armies for wherever the next attack would take place.

The timer clicked 0800, and nearby life-support systems clicked off as the stasis tube shut down, slowly awakening the sleeping lard of flesh inside.

The door to the tube opened and the Eggman stepped out, stretching his arms above his head and taking a deep yawn.

A floating egg-bot slowly descended until it was at head level with the doctor. The small egg broke apart a little and a robotic lense popped up.

"Good morning, father."

"ADAM, how many times do I have to tell you? We're the bad guys. Only wimps and pansies say 'good morning.'"

"I apologize father. Shall I punish myself?"

"Don't bother. Save it for when we capture that horrible hedgehog. Did anything new happen while I was asleep?"

"Yes, father. Dark bot production is up 3, the new prisoners are almost ready, and you received a free emergency gift certificate from Sally Total Fitness."

Eggman sighed. "How do they keep getting my address?"

ADAM's circuits blinked as he received a message. "Father, I have just been informed that the Hunter has returned."

"Excellent," Eggman said with a huge grin, "bring him up."

The doors to the elevator opened and the Hunter dragged himself in, still wet and extremely tired from surviving fall from the floating island and then carrying himself all the way back to New Megalopolis. His collar was still attached tightly, a leash of death forcing Eggman's "dog" to do his will.

"Ran into some roadblocks, eh Hunter?"

The Hunter wiped off some accumulating dirt off his forehead, grunting with anger at Eggman's suggestion.

"The echidna transformed. Nothing could have stopped that…_creature_ he became."

The former night, the Dark Legion, accompanied by Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and the Chaotix, attacked the Dingo headquarters, defeating the Dingo leader and freeing Knuckles father Locke. In their absence, Eggman had dispatched the Hunter to the Dark Legion's secret base, where he wrecked havoc, smashing their base to pieces while capturing several Dark Legion operatives. He had gotten so close to the Master Emerald, only to have Knuckles transform into Hyper Knuckles and send him flying face first into the ocean.

"That's too bad," said Eggman, alarming Hunter with a mix of sincerity and sarcasm, "but the fact remains that you failed your mission."

"But I captured several of the Dark Legion's top operatives! I smashed their base, and did irreparable damage to their forces!"

Eggman walked over to a nearby panel and opened it up. Hundreds of lit buttons littered the console.

"The fact remains that you didn't get me my master emerald. Do you know what happens to those who fail me?"

He flipped a switch next to a green button. The button turned red. The Hunter's collar lit up. He clawed at it in vain.

"Wait!" shouted the Hunter. "Wait!"

"What?" said Eggman, seeming very annoyed that the Hunter was still standing in one piece.

"I found something! In the Dark Legion base!" He reached into the bag slung over his shoulder and brought out a hermetically-sealed suitcase. The monitor on the side of the suitcase read that it was in prime condition and working, holding whatever was inside at a constant 98 degrees.

This piqued the Eggman's interest.

"Oh, Hunter, you got me a present. How thoughtful. Now what is it."

"I was searching the Dark Legion's base," he flipped a switch on the side of the suitcase and it began to unseal, "when I found a heavily guarded area on the lower levels of their main castle. I thought that maybe I'd find some valuables or weapons or something. So, I broke inside, and found a nasty sight."

The suitcase opened, revealing its cargo to Eggman. Eggman's eyes opened wide in shock, and then eased into delight.

"Never thought the Dark Legion were organ dealers." remarked the Hunter.

Eggman quickly grabbed some rubber gloves and placed them on his hands, not wanting to damage his new prize.

"They're not. I've had a theory for some time now that the Legion collects the organs of their dead. It only seems natural for an advanced dystopian culture such as theirs to not believe in such foolish ideas like the soul and the sanctity of the body. Its one thing to create an arm or a leg with robotics, and another to make a heart or lung. Vital organs are far too complex to recreate robotically, without taking up a large amount of space and making the subject worthless in battle. Now, Hunter, I may just let you live."

The hairs on Hunter's arm stood on end, waiting for the next sentence.

"It all depends on who this little beauty belongs to." Eggman gently reached into the suitcase and pulled out the complete, undamaged brain of an echidna, still gooey and warm from stasis.

To be continued...

The Dark Legion's secret base has been destroyed by the Hunter. But, in the face of adversity, the echidna race struggles on under the leadership of Locke and Lien-da. Knuckles returns to Knothole with the Chaotix, hoping to finally put an end to Eggman's reign of terror. But, all is not well, as the Hunter claimed a prize hidden deep within the old DL base. Inside, he found a weapon capable of harnessing the Master Emerald and bringing the world to its knees. Now, Lien-da's dirtiest little secret will return to haunt Knuckles, and herself.

The end of the Dark Legion is at hand.

**The False Prophet**

Coming soon…


	2. Where we are and where we are going

Ice Cap Zone

Floating Island

The fierce winds and icy gales of the Ice Cap zone had mysteriously abated for one day, as if an unseen force had taken pity on the echidna refugees traveling across Angel Island under the guidance of the Dark Legion.

Males, females, children, entire families walked en masse across the snowy plains dressed in rags and carrying everything they owned on their backs, but in high spirits. The sun was out, warming bones chilled from both the cold weather and the fact that they were once again running for their lives and their continued existence. Water dripped from the icy trees, sprinkling onto young echidnas playing tag and catch while grudgingly keeping up with the rest of the refugees. They knew neither why they had been forced out of their homes nor why they had to hide from the rest of the world. For these children, all they knew was that their world was at war, as it had been since long before they were born, and they were to suffer from the consequences of others actions.

The last year for them had been the worst they could remember, and some agreed it was the worst echidna-kind ever had to deal with, even with their bloody history. Many of their numbers believed that the fact that the echidna are constantly placed in trials that threaten to wipe out their society a sign that they are Aurora's chosen people. Others joked half-heartedly that the echidna were simply unlucky. But the fact remained that, since the founding of the Floating Island, the echidna were threatened with extermination. Indeed, even the creation of the Floating Island was in response to a meteor that threatened to strike their city. To save their people, they had used the power of the Master Emerald to raise a section of the land of Downunda, creating the Floating Island.

Then there was the war between the proponents of technology and their detractors, an underground fight known as the Guardian War. Four hundred years ago the two secret guardians of the Floating Island, Dimitri and Edmund, descendents of the Knuckles clan, a cursed clan that supposedly died out, kept the island safe while simultaneously attempting to live in a time of ideological conflict. In order to end this conflict, the two brothers proposed to return the island to the ground, so both sides could go their separate ways. Their proposal was rejected, their fates sealed, and the echidna would never be the same. During the Guardian War, a desperate bid by the Dark Legion to nuke the Floating Island forced the Guardians to move the city of Echinapolis into another dimension until the radiation could be cleaned up. When the echidnas returned, almost three centuries later when Knuckles brought his people out of that dimension, they returned to find their former home claimed by the Dingoes, who were not welcoming to the original owners. The Dingoes staged a revolt against the echidnas but failed thanks to the efforts of Remington, head of the Echidna Security Teams and good friend to the guardian Knuckles. The Dingoes backed down but swore to make good on their threats of overthrowing the echidna.

With the "death" of Sonic the Hedgehog, the dictator Eggman decided to go against his promise to King Acorn to release all lands under his control except his capital city Mobotropolis. Instead, the rotund tyrant doubled his efforts to rule the world, unleashing his robotic dogs of war on every corner of Mobius. On Angel Island, he made a pact with the Dingoes, supplying them with the weaponry necessary to smash the EST and send the echidna into panic. In return, Eggman would cause so much destruction against the forces of Knothole that King Acorn would have no choice but to enlist the help of Knuckles and the Chaotix, forcing the Guardian and his crew to be absent when the Dingoes launched their attack.

Echinapolis was razed to make way for Dingo Central, home of the new Dingo nation, built on the blood and sweat of their new echidna slaves. For half a year three-fourths of the echidna people lived in slavery, the other quarter running for their lives across the many zones of the island. Even Haven, home to the former Guardians who kept watch over the island, was raided and smashed. In the thirteenth hour, the former Guardian Locke, father to Knuckles, made a desperate pact with Lien-Da of the Dark Legion, placing the Master Emerald under the care of the Dark Legion in exchange for the DL conducting a resistance against the Dingoes.

Conducting lightning raids and prison breaks, the Dark Legion managed to secure half of the enslaved masses, including amongst them Lara-Le, mother to Knuckles, and her husband Wynmacher, and Remington, whose once limitless fighting spirit had been broken in slavery. Hiding the refugees inside the Hidden Palace Zone, a mysterious temple built even before the creation of the floating island, the people of Hope Town, what the echidnas called their refugee camp, tried to piece back together their shattered lives.

When Knuckles returned to the Floating Island, accompanied by the Chaotix and Sonic the Hedgehog, he found that he had a cult following amongst the displaced echidna. Because he had died at the hands of Mammoth Mogul, then returned to life at the battle with the aliens, the echidna saw him as a savior, called by a single name – "Avatar." Even Remington, who Knuckles once considered his equal, had become a doting acolyte. Saddened by his new holy position, as well as the fact that he could no longer use the power of Master Emerald, which was guaranteed by his birth right, Knuckles doubts sunk the guardian to a new low.

But he still had a job to do. Banding with Lien-da for a combined Dark Legion/Chaotix attack on Dingo Central, Knuckles freed his father, who had been captured by the Dingoes, as well as defeating the Dingo leader, General Kage, and disrupting the whole of the Dingo army for the time being. However, their victory was cut short by the announcement that Eggman had located Hope Town and sent a single warrior to burn it to the ground.

The Hunter, a fortune/animal hunter who Knuckles once tangled with, was now under the command of Eggman, having been tagged with an explosive collar by the mad doctor. Using a few specially-made weapons, he laid waste to the refugee camp and captured dozens of echidnas, including some high-level operatives of the Dark Legion.

As the Hunter closed in on the Master Emerald, Knuckles intervened. Regaining his powers from the Master Emerald, Knuckles came out roaring, and literally threw the Hunter off the island. In this amazing display, the Dark Legion in awe bowed down to their avatar. The only member still in disbelief was Lien-da, visibly upset that her role as supreme leader was usurped.

After all this, to have a peaceful day in one of the most hazardous zones of the floating island seemed like nature taking pity on the echidna, and the water that fell from the trees its tears.

Standing on a small hill overlooking the crowd of refugees, the grandmaster of the Dark Legion, Lien-da, formerly known as Kommissar, was foreboding sight as her all black snow ensemble contrasted deeply with the pure white fluffiness around her. Even more chilling was the black leather cape she wore over her snow gear. It was old and extremely worn, torn and tattered by what appeared to be gunfire, plasma burns, and cuts from blades; she definitely didn't wear it for warmth.

Scouting the area up ahead, Lien-da saw their final destination in the distance. Turning to her green second-in-command, she was annoyed to find him staring into the distance, his head obviously in the clouds.

"Mallix!" she shouted to the legionnaire standing behind her.

The sound of his leader's voice snapped the subordinate to attention.

"Y-yes, ma'am?" he said nervously.

"Call into the advance team, tell them we're almost at the mountain, then ask them how their situation is. Oh, and Mallix? You daydream on me one more time and I swear you will spend the rest of your life cleaning astropod exhaust outlets. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am!" This time, there was no hint of nervousness in his voice. Now it was replaced by simple fear. He ran off to the legionnaire carrying a radio behind the grandmaster's group.

Reflecting on the state of her subordinates, Lien-da took a brief glimpse at her bodyguards. Four legionnaires made a tight circle around her, two carrying fire swords and the other two wearing ice blasters. Though they all had cybernetic parts, only one had the scars of battle on him. These odds were the norm for the Dark Legion as of this moment, since they were the last remnants of the mighty group that had come through the portal from the prison dimension almost three years ago. Back then they numbered in the thousands, boasting hundreds of tanks, walkers, and other marvelous weapons of technology. Now, they numbered only three hundred, with their armored contingent non-existent.

_It's ironic really. Back then, Kragok led an awe-inspiring army ready to smash our age-old enemies,_ Lien-da thought. _Now_, _I'm protecting them with a handful of legionnaires, many of whom are the same that Kragok wouldn't have used to grease tank wheels. I can't imagine just how pissed he'd be if he saw us today._

Mallix was another example of the Legion's falling efficiency. Given a battlefield promotion in absence of Dr. Finetivius at Hope Town, Lien-da had come to regret the decision to promote an inexperienced lieutenant all the way to second-in-command. The problem was, despite his inexperience, he was the only one who could get anything done, the others wrapped up in the hopelessness of the situation or their newfound rapture with Knuckles' transformation into Hyper Knuckles in front of their eyes.

_Dammit, if only Finetivius were here!_ She hadn't realized just how much she relied on the white echidna until now. _Xenin, Rykor, Syntar; I'd give anything if I could just have one of them back!_ Her hands were balled into fists of rage._ Damn Knuckles! Everything was going so well until he showed up! And damn Eggman! Everything is ruined now! Years of planning, of hard work and sacrifice, all of it, gone, all because of that megalomaniac! All because of him, I'm stuck babysitting a dying race instead of rubbing my victory into that damn guardian's face!_

At this moment, a bad flashback floated back into her head. Despite her attempts to block it out, Lien-da couldn't stop the words from floating into her head.

She remembered what had been said. It was after arriving in Hope Town, while the Hunter was still in the midst of his rampage, told to Lien-da by someone whom she hated with all her heart and soul.

"Ever since we arrived on angel island, all you've done is thrown it in our faces that the emerald had to be entrusted to you…mocking knuckles for losing his powers…and complained about your responsibilities!"

Those words, the words of her half-sister, Julie-su, stung deeply into Lien-da's subconscious. But it was the next part that hurt the worst.

"…stop complaining, Lien-da, and if you're going to be a real leader, grow up and start acting like one!"

It was that part that brought up every emotion, every memory, every reason and excuse, of why she hated Julie-su and the bitch that brought the pink echidna into existence.

Her eyes stung with a certain warm saltiness as her hatred burned inside of her chest.

_For everything that's happened to me, for all the pain I've gone through, for the horrible life that was handed to me, she will pay. I swear, on my mother's grave, that I will kill Julie-su!_

The simple thought of fratricide for some reason soothed Lien-da, whose rage was a fireball seconds ago, now a waning spark. The tears stopped and she wiped away what had formed with her glove. She even managed a smile.

_And I'll enjoy every second of it._

Once again looking out over the refugees, she spotted the ex-Guardian Locke walking amongst the people, helping out various echidnas by carrying bags for tired travelers or carrying the travelers themselves.

Now, here was someone she could definitely use to her advantage. Though Lien-da didn't know it, it was due to Locke's convictions that had caused him to forsake his wife and later his son, all to ensure that the mantle of the Guardian was passed down. Even when his wife left him for another and his son questioned the purpose of his existence, Locke never strayed from the path he set for himself. What Lien-da did know was that before Knuckles had left the floating island to return to Knothole, father and son had a heated argument before Locke stormed off to the ranks of the refugees. Though she couldn't know what they said to one another, she knew that Locke was alone and ideologically motivated, and she knew she could use these to her advantage.

Down amongst the refugees, a few of the children had started a snow war, using the few remaining astropods as moving shelters against flying snowballs. Running around on the snow, a young echidna girl slipped on some covered ice, falling backwards. Two strong hands caught her before she could hit the ground and possibly hurt something.

Placing the echidna girl on packed snow, the hands released her. She turned around to look at her guardian angel. He was an older echidna, with a long white beard and fierce white eyebrows. He wore a very tribal outfit of warm furs adorned with strange trinkets, that contrasted with the more modern fashions wore by the other adults.

"Are you okay?" asked the older echidna.

"Uh-huh." she responded before running off to rejoin her friends, not realizing just how important the older echidna was.

His name was Locke. Father to Knuckles, it was a dream years ago before Knuckles birth that started the father on his great crusade which would find him here, alone, divorced, estranged from his son, and unknown by his own people for what he had accomplished, because he had lived in outside of echidna society on the Floating Island for ten years, then Haven for six, and finally as a prisoner of the Dingoes.

One year ago, he had given up his favorite white lounging clothes in exchange for the native war dress of his clan and taken up the fight against Eggman, even when the Brotherhood was shattered and the mantle of Guardianship in jeopardy. He had boldly decided to entrust the Dark Legion with the Master Emerald, a gamble that had worked, bringing Lien-da and her legions into the battle for Angel Island. For a week he had been tortured incessantly, until Knuckles broke him out. Then, though his heart weighed heavy to do so, he berated his son for leaving the island so quickly after arriving.

Nothing was going right. His fervent hope had been that Knuckles would remain on the island and reassume the mantle of guardianship was now gone. The time was right. The people were ready. Even the Dark Legion had bowed down to Knuckles and accepted his right as the avatar.

But no. Knuckles had gone back to Knothole to help the Acorns, leaders of the earth-dwellers. Though Locke was probably the most liberal member of the Brotherhood, even accepting his son's love of a former legionnaire, his echidna roots screamed when Knuckles told Locke he was leaving his people – the chosen race, according to echidna mythology – to support the backwards, unholy surface-dwellers.

Looking out over the ragged remains of his people, Locke spotted his former wife, Lara-le, even after two children and years of worrying over her first-born still lovely and radiant. She too assisted other members of their race, looking after them as if the whole of the echidna were her children. It her loving nature that had attracted Locke to her in the first place.

Up ahead of the slowly traveling group stood a massive icy mountain, its light blue surface and snow-capped peak a sight to behold in the shimmering sunlight. At its base, two Dark Legion members chipped away at a large block of ice, digging underneath the packed snow. After a few minutes of work in clearing the snow and ice, one of the legionnaires struck a hard surface which rang out with a metallic _CLANG_!

Pulling away the last few chunks of broken ice, the two Legionnaires revealed a small metal cover latched tightly over the rock beneath the ice. Using the same ice picks that removed the ice, they pried it open the metal case to reveal a button, which they of course pushed.

The mountain shook, rattling both the snow from the top of the mountain as well as the spirits of the echidnas, still recovering from their trials. An avalanche fell off the mountain. Hitting the bottom of the mountain, they pushed away years of packed snow.

As the avalanche settled, the echidnas were stunned, as they could make out the outline of a metal door peeking in between the remaining snow. Several fire legionnaires ran forward and used their weapons to melt away the rest of the snow, proving the door to be much larger than first impressions gave away.

Once the door had been removed of snow, the Legionnaires moved away and allowed their grand-mistress to approach.

Lien-da walked straight up to the door, reaching into her clothes into a secret pocket right next to her heart, and pulled out a keycard. Placing it into a small and uninteresting slot in the door, she pressed it in all the way with her palm. The card snapped into place, and the slot slammed shut, taking the card away from the leader of the Dark Legion.

Now it was the doors turn to shutter. Great motors and wheels could be heard on the other side of the mountain, screaming to life as the doors opened. The Legionnaires entered first without hesitation, followed by the rest of the echidnas, who entered more cautiously.

The interior of the mountain was a massive hanger, mostly empty, but some equipment, long abandoned and in disrepair, littered the area sparingly. A massive lift ended the hanger on the other side, and some stairs on the left and right led to rooms and more staircases into the mountain.

Once all the echidnas were inside, Lien-da turned to address them.

"Listen up! There are barracks on the second and third levels, but space is limited, so I suggest if you want a room you hurry your butts over there. This hanger bay is also open, for now, but you will need to relocate once we get our equipment up here. The upper levels of this hanger and the bunker levels are off-limits. If you need to know anything else, don't ask me." She turned her back to the echidna mass.

"I'm not your damn tour guide. Locke!" She shouted over her shoulder. "Come with me. There's something you need to see."

In the most highly secured, off-limits area of Robotropolis, machinery hummed and electricity bounced between tripods, all centering around a single tube of green liquid gel wherein the brain of an intelligent but not human animal floated. Nearby, behind protective glass and a few inches of steel, stood the glutinous Eggman, working diligently on his expansive control panel containing an enormous amount of buttons and knobs.

Pushing up a lever on the control panel, ten yellow lights lit up slowly, a humming sound growing ever greater with each slight push. Two large robotic arms carrying what looked like giant needles connected to tubes with a red paste inside entered the glass at two hermetically-sealed vacuum tubes, injecting their cargo into the tube.

"My lord, what is all this?" asked the Hunter, still thanking his lucky stars that the Eggman was sadistic, but not merciless.

"This, my good Hunter, is the culmination of a year of back-breaking work. Ever since that stupid hedgehog changed me into a flesh-bag, I've been confronted with the simple fact that someday I will leave the mortal coil, if I allow things to continue as they are. However, I'll be damned before I let that happen. This machine goes deep into the realm of particles, beyond atoms, into the very smallest of sub-atomic particles, which are as-yet unnamed, so I've been calling them Eggmonics."

Eggman chuckled a bit. In his eyes, he thought the name very drole, but the Hunter merely rolled his eyes, though he made sure he was out of the Eggman's sight when he did so. Without hesitation, Eggman continued with his speech.

"Eggmonics, when properly harvested and used, can be fashioned into any type of animal tissue. Nervous system, bones, muscle; it can all be created using Eggmonics, as long as they have a blueprint. A person's blueprint is in their brain, which is why I cannot create a living being from nothing. However, with those of us who do have a brain, in theory, Eggmonics can be used to break down and rebuild our bodies from scratch. In essence, this means that, eventually, I will be able to live forever!"

"So why give someone else that opportunity?"

"This is only a test, but an important one if it works correctly. My brain-washing has hit a snag; the guinea pigs need a 'alpha male' to lead them. So, I'm killing two birds with one stone, three if you count the plans I have for this specimen. But first, we have to awaken the brain."


	3. FINAL CHAPTER

FINAL CHAPTER

Lien-da's red mech, it's boosters devastated from the aftershock of Kragok's destruction angled towards the mobius atmosphere, beginning the reentry that would most certainly burn the mech to a crisp.

"Rotor!" shouted Princess Sally, "we have to grab that robot! Angle the ship for intercept!"

Rotor looked at the controls for the Royal Spacecraft and shook his head.

"Nicole says the angle is too steep! She's falling too fast for us to stop her!"

"Correct," said Nicole without any emotion, "attempting to rescue her now would be impossible."

Julie-Su rushed to the front of the spacecraft and grabbed the communications sensor.

"Lien-da!"

There was no answer.

"Lien-da, answer me! There's something I have to know! Why? Why do you hate my mother so much? She saved you! She saved your life!"

The radio crackled. "Shut up! Let me die in peace."

"What the hell is your problem, Lien? Why do you hate me so much?"

Silence. And then a scream.

"Because you were given life!"

"What?" Julie-Su couldn't understand what her half-sister was talking about. Lien had been the grandmistress, the leader of the Dark Legion, while Julie-Su had been reduced to a slave, her mother dead, her memory and foster parents taken away from her.

"From the day I was born, I wasn't given a choice. My life was to be dedicated to the cause. I wasn't taught. I was trained."

Brief sobs came in between each sentence.

"Kragok understood. He was the only one who could."

"Understood what?" asked Julie-Su.

"Though we called ourselves the leaders of the Dark Legion, we were actually slaves. Slaves to a lost cause. Father understood too. That's why he ran. Like a coward, he ran, and left us in the chains. We weren't evil. We had our ways, and you had yours."

The mech was now bright orange from the flame of the atmosphere. It was breaking up. Flames licked the metal. No one onboard Acorn 11 said a thing.

"Sometimes, I dreamt that me, and my brother, and our mother… and she was still alive, and there wasn't any war, and Kragok was fine, and we were a family. That was my wish. It was Kragok's too. All Kragok and I wanted was to be free."

A brief silence settled upon the intercom. Then, a whisper.

"How did you defeat me? Why did Aurora bless you, and not my brother? It's not fair. It's not fair!" The once collected voice now was becoming jaunted and hysterical. The sobbing was uncontrollable now.

Suddenly, the intercom gave out, and all the Freedom Fighters could hear was static, as they watched the mech turn to dust.

* * *

**AN**

This is Metalguru. I'm sorry to say that due to a personal decision, I am hereby quitting This is the final chapter I will ever post. If you have any questions, please read my profile or check out my forum, where I will answer any questions you might have.


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